French Polynesiaofficially Territory of French Polynesia, French Territoire de la Polynésie Française, Tahitian Polynesia Faranioverseas territory country of France , a collection of island groups consisting of five archipelagoes in the south-central Pacific Ocean. Included are some 130 islands , divided among five archipelagoes, scattered across the Pacific between latitudes 7° and 27° S and longitudes 134° and 155° WW—a total land area roughly equivalent to that of metropolitan Paris and London combined, but spread across a swath of ocean five times as large as France. The archipelagoes are the Society Islands, the Tuamotu Archipelago, the Gambier Islands, the Marquesas Islands, and the Tubuai Islands. The capital, Papeete, is on Tahiti, the territory’s largest island (403 square miles [1,043 square km]), in the Society group.

Land

Relief

The

land

Relief

There are five distinct groups of islands, islands are all protrusions of parallel submarine ridges trending from the northwest to the southeast. The Society Islands are the most westerly and extensive group, accounting for two-fifths of the group and the most important in terms of land area (40 percent) and population (85 percent)land area and nearly nine-tenths of the population. They consist of two groups, the Îles du Vent (Windward Islands) in the east and the Îles Sous le Vent (Leeward Islands) in the west. Except for a few small coral atolls, the Society Islands are of the high-island type, their formation having resulted from the emergence of underwater volcanoes. The volcanic cones are highly eroded and cut up into high crests and deep, radiating valleys. The often lushly vegetated mountains drop abruptly to narrow coastal strips or directly into lagoons or the sea. The islands are protected from the force of the sea by almost completely encircling barrier reefs.

The most highly populated of the Society Islands are Tahitiand its neighbour, Moorea, both situated in the eastern Windward Group, or Îles du Vent. Tahiti, formed of two ancient volcanic cones, is particularly striking because of its dramatic silhouette, which rises 7,352 feet (2,241 metres) above sea level. The mountains are empty of all human settlement, habitation and planting being entirely limited to the coastal strip and valley outlets of the island. The island of Moorea, separated from Tahiti by a channel 8.5 miles (14 kilometreskm) wide, is also a high island and is encircled with very brilliant white coral sand beaches. It is well-connected to Tahiti by boat and taxi planes—a consequence of the booming tourist industrytrade there.

Some 75 miles to the (120 km) west of Tahiti are the Leeward Islands, or Îles sous Sous le Vent, made up of five high volcanic islands and four atolls. They closely resemble the Windward Islands Îles du Vent in appearance. Raiatea, a double island group, is the largest and most densely populated of the Leeward GroupÎles Sous le Vent. Separated by a channel that is about two 2 miles (3 km) wide, Raiatea and its northern neighbour, VaitoareTahaa, are located on the same mountain mass and lie within a single barrier reef. Both have coastal plains suitable for growing coconut palms and raising stocklivestock. The growing of vanilla, once an important crop, declined in the 1970s. The Leeward Group’s Some vanilla is also grown. The group’s main port is Uturoa, located on Raiatea. To the east of Raiatea is the picturesque island of Huahine, a volcanic structure bisected by a shallow arm of the sea.

Finally, to the west of Raiatea lies the beautiful little island named of Bora-Bora. It is formed from two volcanic peaks rising to 2,385 feet (727 metres) and 2,169 feet (661 metres) and dropping abruptly to the lagoon. Bora-Bora is one of the centres of the tourist trade in French Polynesia.

The Tuamotu Archipelago, lying to the east of the Society Islands, has an a land area of 280 266 square miles (689 square km) and consists of some 80 islands. These are low, flat islands or atolls of coral origin, surrounding a lagoon. Their size varies greatly: the largest ones, such as Rangiroa, reach 29 square miles; the smallest are made up of , from 30 square miles (75 square km) in Rangiroa to a few acres of land barely protruding above the surface of the sea. With only porous, coral-based soils and with no permanent streams, they have no agricultural potential aside from the ever-present coconut trees. The lagoons, however, are a source of fish, pearls, and mother-of-pearl shell. Only Rangiroa, with its airport, is in close contact with Tahiti. Elsewhere, living conditions are difficult, and many people emigrate to Tahiti.French nuclear installations are situated in the Tuamotus; test sites are on Mururoa and Fangataufa, both ceded to France in l964.

Morphologically Administratively linked to the Tuamotu Islands but morphologically different, the Îles Gambier (Mangareva) Islands lie at the southern extremity of the Tuamotu Archipelago and include four large, high volcanic islands and a few islets (covering a total of 14 square miles (36 square km). The main island is Mangareva, whose name is sometimes used to refer to the whole group.

The 14 islands of the Marquesas group lie 900 miles (1,450 km) to the northeast of Tahiti. They have a land area of 405 square miles (1,049 square km). Some of them are high volcanic islands (over rising above 4,000 feet (1,200 metres), with sharp and twisting contours. Unlike the Society Islands, they are not protected from the sea by a barrier reef, with the result that they lack a coastal plain. Approaching the islands from the sea is difficult. People live exclusively in the valleys, where they engage in farming.

The Tubuai, or Austral, Islands, or Îles Tubuai, situated 450 miles (720 km) south of Tahiti, make up the southernmost part of the territory. This chain of four islands, with the addition of the isolated island of Rapa in the southeast and the uninhabited Marotiri and Maria islands, covers 57 square miles (148 square km). All of the islands are of volcanic origin but are relatively low (rising to elevations of 270 to 1,440 feet [80 to 440 metres]) and have unpronounced contoursrounded. Income is derived from agriculture (taro, arrowroot, copra, market vegetables) and pandanus plaiting.

Like the Marquesas and the GambierTuamotu-TuamotusGambiers, the Austral Tubuai Islands have poor connections with Tahiti. As elsewhere, the hard living conditions cause many people to migrate to Tahiti and Papeete.

Climate

The climate is tropical—warm and humid. A warm rainy season lasts from November to April, and a relatively cool dry season from May to October. The dispersion of the islands through 20° of latitude, however, results in regional climatic variation. Except in the Marquesas and the northern Tuamotus, rainfall precipitation is abundant, often falling in violent showersrain storms. As much as 120 inches (3,050 millimetresmm) falls annually on the coastal areas. There are local variations due to because of differing exposures; on average , the windward coasts receive more precipitation.

The temperature varies only slightly throughout the year. At Papeete the average annual temperature is 79° F (26° C79 °F (26 °C); the high average is 91° F (33° C91 °F (33 °C) in March and the low average 70° F (21° C70 °F (21 °C) in August. The Austral Tubuai Islands, farther south, enjoy have a cooler climate; the low average can go down to 64° F (18° C64 °F (18 °C) in September. The relative humidity is always high—80 to high—generally between 80 and 90 percenton the average. The high more elevated areas are continually enveloped in a heavy cloud formationformations.

The territory is in the trade-wind zone. The dominant winds thus blow from the north and northeast, but they tend toward the southeast between May and October. There are long periods of calm (April, May, June) in the period from April to June but with occasional typhoons. During , particularly during occurrences of the El Niño Current the territory is frequently in danger of typhoonswater-temperature anomaly in the Pacific.

Plant and animal life

Because of the recent origin and the isolation of the islands, there is little variety in terrestrial flora and fauna. Most of the plant species were introduced by the first Polynesians, and others were introduced by Europeans.

The vegetation’s appearance varies with the ecological Plant cover varies according to local conditions. On the limestone soils of the atolls, it has a pronounced xerophilous (desert-plant-type) characterplants are commonly found. On the high volcanic islands it plant life is more diversified; ferns have often conquered the many hills and plateaus, whereas rain forests rainforests are established in the upper valley areas. On coastal plains coconut, breadfruit, and various fruit trees flourish.

The land fauna is especially limited, and most of the species have been introduced. No Although no mammals are indigenous to the islands; , there are feral goats, pigs, horses, cattle, and rats. A fish , called nato, and a variety of shrimp are found in the islands’ freshwater streams. The marine life in the lagoons and surrounding seas is rich.

Patterns of settlement

On the high varied and plentiful.

People

Most of the people throughout the islands may be classed as Polynesian, although many are also of partly European or Asian heritage. Whites of European (notably French) origin make up about one-eighth of the population. The vast majority of the population is Christian. More than half of the people are Protestant—affiliated primarily with the Maòhi Protestant Church (formerly Evangelical Church of French Polynesia)—and about two-fifths are Roman Catholic. The official languages are French and Tahitian, although other Polynesian languages are widely used. The birth rate is about the same as the world average, but the rate of natural increase is relatively high.

On the high volcanic islands, homes are scattered through

the

coconut groves along the coastal roads. Villages are spaced

two to three

several miles apart and typically

have

include a church, a government house, a school,

shop

shops, a pastor’s home, and a few residences.

The

Many contemporary rural

house is

houses are of concrete construction in a yard shaded by fruit trees, with a separate kitchen made from traditional materials (e.g., palm

,

or bamboo) where food is prepared and eaten. On the atolls, the population is usually grouped together in villages located close to the passes through the surrounding reefs.

Population

On Tahiti, population and business activity tend to concentrate in

the Papeete area. The town consists of the old colonial city (still the business centre), residential areas (often on the heights), and an excellent harbour.

The people

Most of the people throughout the islands may be classed as Polynesian, speaking eastern Polynesian languages (although intermixture has left few pure Polynesians). There are minorities of Chinese, Europeans, and Americans. About 95 percent of the population is Christian. More than one-half is Protestant, about 40 percent is Roman Catholic, and the remainder belongs to various other Christian denominations. The Evangelical Church of French Polynesia is the dominant church.

The economy

Papeete and surrounding areas.

Economy

Tourism is the country’s main economic activity. Many resources are used for local subsistence, including fruits, products from fishing and planting, and materials for the construction of traditional types of houses and canoes. Agriculture, once of primary importance, now only provides a small portion of the gross domestic product. Pigs, cattle, and chickens are raised for food. The traditional exports—copra and exports—including vanilla—have greatly declined, but this loss of revenue has been partially compensated for by the development of fishing, especially with the extension of territorial waters to 200 nautical miles (370 km) offshore in 1978. Shrimp and oysters are farmed; and the cultured-pearl industry is important, especially on . Black cultured pearls, principally from the Tuamotu and Gambier island groupsislands groups, account for some two-thirds of export earnings.

Manufactured products include copra, coconut oil, processed foodsother oils, beer, printed textiles, construction materials, copper wares, beer and soft drinks, and cloth, and sandals; traditional handicrafts and boats are made on some of the outer islands. Hydroelectric power plants on Tahiti began service in the early 1980s.Revenue has been greatly increased by tourism and by an influx , and by the early 21st century some one-third of the country’s power was hydroelectricity.

Until the mid-1990s revenue was greatly increased by the presence of French military personnel to support supporting the nuclear testing facilities in the Tuamotus. Logistical support activities on Tahiti and Hao Atoll have created additional employment .There have been considerable developments in transportation facilities since the early 1960s, including the construction until France declared a moratorium on nuclear testing in 1996. The French government pledged to provide aid for a number of years to compensate for the adjustment. At the same time, the government has attempted to diversify the economy and stimulate investment.

Beginning in the mid-20th century, transportation facilities were constructed or greatly upgraded, including the development of a modern port in Papeete, construction of an international airport at Faaa, and development the establishment of air services with some of the outlying islands: Moorea, the LeewardsÎles Sous le Vent, the western Tuamotus, the Marquesas, and the AustralsTubuais. There is scheduled shipping to other regions in the Pacific, but interisland shipping remains largely dependent on local unscheduled schooner sailings. The road network has been increased to several hundred miles of French Polynesia has a relatively modest road network, but the great majority of roads are paved or stone-surfacedroadway.

Administration and social conditionsRepresented in the French parliament by two deputies and a senator and placed under French law, the territory is administered locally under the statutes of 1977 and 1984. These provide for a popularly elected territorial assembly, a Government and society

French Polynesia, as an overseas country of France, has greater autonomy than many other French possessions. Its legal status is that of an overseas collectivity, which entails greater independence than that of an overseas department or territory. The constitution provides for a unicameral legislature, the French Polynesia Assembly, which is elected by universal adult suffrage and chooses the country’s president from among its members. The president is assisted by a cabinet called the Council of Ministers. A high commissioner appointed by the French government represents the French president as head of state and is in charge of matters including defense, and a president and Cabinet selected from the assembly.

Schooling is compulsory to the end of primary school and is conducted largely in government schools, supplemented by mission schools.

Cultural life

Polynesia’s cultural and artistic traditions have been misrepresented and to an extent have been foreign relations, and justice. An Economic, Social and Cultural Council, made up of representatives from trade unions, various professional societies, and cultural and other organizations, serves as an advisory group to the government concerning proposed legislation. The country is represented in the French Parliament by two deputies and a senator. The judicial system includes a Court of Appeal, a Court of First Instance, and a Court of Administrative Law.

Schooling is compulsory for children aged 6 to 14 and is free for students attending government day schools. The six years of primary education are funded by the government; there are church- and government-run secondary schools. The University of French Polynesia, located in Papeete, is the only tertiary-level institution in the country. It was established in 1987 as part of the French University of the Pacific and took its present name in 1999 when the university split into two entities, one in French Polynesia and one in New Caledonia. Health care facilities are concentrated in the towns and cities.

Cultural life

Many elements of traditional Polynesian culture and arts, such as dancing (tamure), music, tattooing, and religion, disappeared in large part under the influence of missionaries, who began arriving in the late 18th century and suppressed the traditional culture. It has also been misrepresented and, to an extent, reduced to a sort of folklore by the romantic image that Europeans adopted. A local ethnographic museum and a local learned society The beauty of the islands drew artists such as the French painter Paul Gauguin, who lived first on Tahiti and later on Hiva Oa. Inspired by the local culture, Gauguin employed Polynesian images and spiritual themes in the work he created there. A number of his paintings—as well as the work of other artists—are displayed in the Paul Gauguin Museum on Tahiti.

With the country’s growing independence has come greater attention to Polynesian culture, including the increased use of the Tahitian language and its elevation to the status of an official language in the late 20th century. An ethnographic museum and learned society in Papeete have contributed to efforts to preserve the territory’s cultural heritage. The Still, the absence of newspapers in Polynesian languages, the small amount of broadcasting in the Tahitian language, and the nonrecognition of vernacular languages as official languages pervasive influence of European and North American cultural exports (notably music and television) all threaten what survives of Polynesian culture.

History

This section focuses specifically on the history and development of the area and country now known as French Polynesia. For a discussion of the history of French Polynesia in its broader, regional context, see Pacific Islands, history of.

Archaeological evidence suggests that the Marquesas Islands may have been settled in about 200 BCBCEfrom western Polynesia. In subsequent dispersions, Polynesians from the Marquesas migrated to the Hawaiian Islands in about AD300 CEand reached the Society Islands by about the 9th centuryAD. Large chieftainships were formed on Tahiti, Bora-Bora, and Raiatea. Teriaroa, north of Tahiti, was a royal retreat, and Taputapuatea, on Raiatea, was the most sacred shrine in the islands.

European contact with the islands of French Polynesia was gradual. The Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan sighted Pukapuka Atoll in the Tuamotu group in 1521. The southern Marquesas Islands were discovered reached in 1595. The Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen in 1722 discovered Makatea, Bora-Bora, and Maupiti. Captain Capt. Samuel Wallis in 1767 discovered reached Tahiti, Moorea, and Maiao Iti. The Society Islands were named after for the Royal Society, which had sponsored the expedition under Captain Capt. James Cook that observed from Tahiti the 1769 transit of the Sun by the planet Venus. Cook reached Tubuai was discovered on Cook’s his last voyage, in 1777.

The history of the Society Island groups is virtually that of Tahiti, which was made a French protectorate in 1842 and a colony in 1880. French missionaries went to the Gambier group in 1834, and in 1844 a French protectorate was proclaimed, followed by annexation in 1881. The Austral Tubuai Islands were also evangelized from Tahiti, and as late as 1888 Rimatara and Rurutu sought British protection, which was refused. They were placed under the French protectorate in 1889 and annexed in 1900. The Tuamotus were part of the kingdom of the Pomare family of Tahiti, which came originally from Fakarava Atoll. These islands were claimed as dependencies of Tahiti within the protectorate by France in 1847 and became part of the colony in 1880. In the Marquesas, Nuku Hiva was annexed to the United States in 1813 by Captain Capt. David Porter of the frigate Essex, but the annexation was never ratified. French occupation of the group followed the landing of forces from a French warship, requested by the chief of Tahuata (near Hiva Oa). Soon after there was a quarrel with the French; in 1842 the chiefs ceded sovereignty to France.

The islands were administered as the French Colony of Oceania. The colony was ruled by a naval government until 1885, when an organic decree provided for a French governor and Privy Council and for a General Council, representing the islands, that had some control over fiscal policies. The powers of the General Council, however, were cut back in 1899, and in 1903 it was replaced by an advisory council, the function of which was purely administrative in function. In 1940 the voters on the islands chose to side with the Free French Government government of Charles de Gaulle, and many islanders fought alongside Allied armies during World War II. French Polynesia was made an overseas territory of France in 1946. It was provided with a territorial assembly and was allowed to elect one representative to the French National Assembly and one to the French Senate.

In 1957 the French government extended the powers of the local Territorial Assembly. In 1958 Pouvanaa a Oopa, vice president of the Council of Government, announced a plan to secede from France and form an independent Tahitian republic. He was subsequently arrested; the movement collapsed, and local powers were again curtailed. France issued new statutes granting more local autonomy in 1977, but the pro-independence and pro-autonomy parties continued to call for popular election of the president and either more autonomy or outright independence. In 2004 French Polynesia was designated an overseas country, which increased its powers of self-government, although its legal status remained that of an overseas collectivity. Oscar Temaru, a pro-independence leader, after having served briefly in 2004, again was president in 2005–06. He returned to the presidency for a third time in September 2007.

In 1963 the French government began the testing nuclear testing program weapons on Mururoaatoll. Mururoa and neighbouring Fangataufa were , which the territorial assembly ceded to France by the territorial assembly in 1964the following year, along with neighbouring Fangataufa. In response to worldwide pressure the tests were moved underground on Fangataufa in 1975. The territory became autonomous in 1984. However, the detonations continued. In the mid-1980s political parties and environmental-protection and human rights groups united to protest France’s continued nuclear testing. In 1985 world attention focused on the area when the French secret service commandos blew up a yacht owned by the Greenpeace environmental group Greenpeace as it was preparing to lead a protest near Mururoa atoll.Atoll. In 1992 French prime minister Pierre Bérégovoy suspended testing, but Pres. Jacques Chirac ordered its resumption in 1995. Amid widespread opposition from the French public and within the territory itself, France exploded a bomb under Mururoa. The test was followed by rioting within the French territory. Mounting antinuclear pressure led the French to reduce the number of planned tests from eight to six, and the last device was detonated below Fangataufa Atoll in January 1996. Later in 1996 France signed the protocols of the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty (Treaty of Rarotonga). Military and civilian facilities related to the nuclear testing were dismantled. Hundreds of French soldiers subsequently left the area, causing the loss of many associated service jobs. Questions remained regarding the effect that radiation from the nuclear tests had had on the region’s population, and a government committee of inquiry reported to the legislature in 2006 that France had hidden the extent of radioactive fallout from the aboveground tests. The committee recommended that France monitor public health in the region, compensate the Polynesian citizens affected, and clean up the environment; the French government rejected the report.